At Pamplona a cannonball shattered a young officer’s leg and every plan he had — and it was through that wound that God came in.
The Novena to Saint Ignatius of Loyola prepares the heart for his feast on July 31. It is nine days of prayer, each one with a real episode from the saint’s life and a grace to ask for: to let God enter through what wounded us, to discern the joy that lasts, to lay down the sword at Montserrat, to find out what we are actually living for, to have the humility to begin again, to build friendships in the Lord, to work for the greater glory of God, to discern God’s will in ordinary days and, on the last day, to hand everything over with the Suscipe.
None of this is legend. Ignatius was wounded at the siege of Pamplona on May 20, 1521; during the long convalescence at the castle of Loyola the only books at hand were Ludolph of Saxony’s Life of Christ and the Golden Legend of the saints, and noticing which of his daydreams left joy behind and which left him dry became the seed of what the Church now calls Ignatian discernment. He told the story himself, late in life, dictating it to Father Luís Gonçalves da Câmara — the text we read today as his Autobiography. Pope Paul III approved the Society of Jesus in 1540 and the Spiritual Exercises in 1548. Ignatius died in Rome on July 31, 1556, and was canonized in 1622.
Each day has a contemplative video with the whole novena: the opening prayer and the prayer of the novena, the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be prayed together, the Word of God for the day with a meditation built on it, a moment of silence and the closing blessing — nothing abridged, so you can pray along from beginning to end. If you have ever prayed the Daily Examen, you have already prayed something Ignatius handed on to the Church; these nine days show you where it came from.
On the first day you choose the grace you will ask for; across the nine days you renew and deepen the request; on the feast, you offer it. The companion book in PDF carries the complete novena to follow along, with a QR code for each day that leads straight to the video.
“Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will.”
All that I have and possess, Thou hast given to me; to Thee, O Lord, I return it. Give me only Thy love and Thy grace, for that is enough for me. With those words Ignatius summed up his own life — and with them the novena closes each day. Over these nine days you learn where such a prayer comes from: a broken man who let God rebuild everything.
Not just a prayer to repeat: it is a nine-day journey with Saint Ignatius.
The opening prayer, the prayer of the novena and the petition for the grace, with the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be — to pray along, not only to listen.
Each day opens with a documented episode: Pamplona, the sickroom at Loyola, Montserrat and Manresa, the Exercises, the first companions, Rome.
One verse of Scripture each day — and a meditation built on it, so prayer ends in one concrete resolution you can actually keep today.
A contemplative video each day and the novena book in PDF, with a QR code to follow along.
"O glorious Patriarch" is the prayer of the Jesuit novena booklets; the collect comes from the Roman Missal, for the saint’s feast; the Suscipe is Ignatius’s own, from the Spiritual Exercises (no. 234). The book includes a note on the sources and says what is our own writing.
“Novena to Saint Ignatius of Loyola” — in a paperback edition.
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Real comments from our YouTube videos.
I have felt a Great uplifting shift in my daily life since I started this Wonderful St. Michael Lenton Devotion. It's brought Joy, Happiness and a Great sense of relief to my life. I was Sad, Depressed and So Lost before, but now I'm found!
@carlosgallardo65I was having a severe crisis of Faith at the beginning of this novena, due to many misfortunes such as illness. Those misfortunes still exist; but my Faith has been rejuvenated, and is much stronger than before.
@mgtowabbott6924I love this novena more than any other I've done in a whole lifetime because it's tough me I'm knotted like a pretzel 😅 I laugh about it for a moment but I'm very serious.
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